Key case



A ril 23, 1935. B. A. WOlNA ET AL 1,998,799

KEY CASE Original Filed Sept. 8, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS v 7 April 23, 91935. IN, WOINA 1,998,799

KEY CASE Original Filed Sept. 8, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 23, 1935,

UNITED 'STATES/ PATENT OFFICE KEY case Benjamin A. Woina and James H. Murray, De-

' troit, Mich; said Woina assignor of one-tenth 01 1118 interest to J. Ralph Gibson, Detroit,

Mich.

Reiiled for abandoned application. Serial No. 632,138, September 8, 1932. This application August 14, 1933, Serial No. 685,157

11 Claims.

particular key may be readily produced for use with a minimum amount of trouble andmanipulation, this applicationbei'ng a re-filed continuation of a prior application Serial No. 632,138, filed September 8th, 1932.

Heretofore such retainers have required dismantling more or less of this structure in order that keys may be inserted or removed often with the adherent disadvantage that manipulation of the keys results in loosening of the structure or such manipulation is diflicult on account of the structure holding the keys too tightly or for other well-known reasons; and on the other hand, some retainers provide for the carrying of a number of keys or hooks or loose fasteners which permit entanglement of the keys; and in any case, the selection of a particular key becomes a matter of close inspection and careful handling.

It is an important object of the present invention to entirely obviate the aforesaid disadvantages whereby a" device is obtained which is capable of being satisfactorily operated even with the gloved hand or in the dark and in which there is no tendency of the keys to be held too tightly or too loosely and to become entangled or diflicult of manipulation. An important object of the invention is to provide for the mechanical selection and movement of any key to a position for use merely upon the operation of a suitably provided button or member and the automatic locking of such key in closed position when it is returned to the confines of the retainer.

A still further object is to provide means for,

attaching and detaching keys to and from the retainer without the disassembling of any parts and a further object is to provide operating and latching means for the keys which do not require the use of a special key-for the purpose or the notching or any other change in the design of the key.

The invention also contemplates the provision of a key retainer in which the frame structure includes a spacing member for the side walls, which spacing member carries the latching mechanism, pivoted key clips with which the latching mechanism cooperates being carried between the side walls;

It is possible to control the selective operation of any one of a plurality 0! keys by means of a single operating member, and the said invention also contemplates the use of such a selective member.

To facilitate ready identification of any key in the retainer, it is proposed to providithe cover or case, preferably at each end. thereof, and on opposite sides, with symbols or characters such as of a raised nature capable of being recognized by touch and indicating to the user the button or member to be operated to release any desired'key. This renders the retainer capable 01' ready use even in the dark.

Still further objects and advantages subsidiary or incidental to the aforesaid objects or resulting from the construction or operation of the invention as it may be carried into effect will become apparent as the said invention is here inafter further disclosed.

In carrying the said invention into effect, we may provide a key retainer or case including a frame structure having side walls between the ends of which are pivoted key holders receiving the key heads, said holders having lateral yieldable members permitting the insertion and removal of said key heads when laterally moved for that purpose, a spacer between the side walls dividing the space therebetween into key compartments, a plurality of latches carried by said spacer and movable into and out of latching engagement with the said holders for their locking or release and resilient means'for moving the said holders when released to an outward or open position relative to the frame structure whereby a key is selectively brought into position for use.

All of which is more particularly described and ascertained hereinafter, by way oi example, having reference to the accompanying drawings,

wherein:

ing the use of an ornamental cover plate and single button selective control.

Figure '1 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 2 showing the use of cover plates and single button controls, the cover plates being shown in section; and

Figure 8 is a detail perspective view of one of the single button control elements removed.

Similar characters of reference indicate similar parts in the several figures of the drawings, Figure 1 being drawn to a similar scale and Figure 8 to a larger scale than are the other figures.

l and 2 are the side walls of a frame structure which includes a spacer 3 connecting the said side walls together in spaced relation and forming a substantially diagonal partition suitably shaped to provide key chambers between the said side walls, in which chambers are located key holders generally numbered 4, the said holders being mounted on pivots 5. The said holders are swingingly movable inwardly and outwardly of said chambers on their pivots and are shown as being notched at 6 to receive latches I carried by the spacer 3, the said latches being provided with buttons or projections 8 extending through suitably provided slots 9 in the side walls of the structure whereby the said latches may be manually operated. The release of the latches from engagement with the holders 4 is eifected against the yielding resistance of springs lo, the inner ends of which bear against abutments ll provided on said spacer 3 and assisting in the support of the latches.

The said holders, when in their closed position within the structure, are retained in such position by the latches against the resistance of springmembers l2 arranged for the purpose of swinging the said holders outwardly of the structure when the said holders are released in the manner described, so that, upon a suitable movement of any one of the buttons or projections 8, the corresponding holder will be caused by the action of its spring member I2 to swing outwardly and expose for use the key or other device which it may contain.

In the drawings, keys are indicated by the numeral l3, and it will be seen that the heads of the keys are inserted in the holders, which are in the form of clasps adapted to so receive the key heads. In the example shown in detail in Figures 4 and 5, the holder, generally numbered 4, is shown as being in the form of a tray [4 suitably shapedto receive the head of a key and having side walls [5 laterally confining the head of a key to the tray. Between the said side walls is presented an opening l6 through which the shank of the key extends, as will be clearly apparent from the drawings. I I are posts on the inner or pivot end of the holder on which posts is mounted a spring plate ll normally parallel to the tray l4 but capable of being flexed, as shown in Figure 5, to admit of the passage of the head of a key into and out of said holder.

The said side walls l5 extend from the side edges of the tray l4 substantially to the corresponding edges of the plate I! so that said tray, side walls and plate form a clasp adapted to enclose the head of a key in both the sides and edges thereof. When the head of the key is in normal position in the holder, it is firmly held against accidental displacement notwithstanding its easy removal when the plate I1 is flexed. The holder 4 is shaped so that a small portion 4 thereof is exposed beyond the margin of the structure to permit proper pressure to be applied thereon to close and latch the said holder.

It will be obvious that the movement of the holder in the structure results in a corresponding movement of a key which may be held by the holder so that, with all of the holders in latched position, the keys are compactly housed within the structure: but any key may be almost instantly brought into position for use by simply operating the required button or projection in the manner related. It will also be seen that the holders may receive key heads of various sizes within the limits of their capacity and retain them against accidental removal quite effectively, although the holders in any one device may be made in a variety of sizes, if so desired, to accommodate a specific variety of keys. Furthermore, it is preferred that the tension and arrangement of the members l2 be such that when a key is in the open position it will be held at such an angle to the structure that such structure will be maintained out of contact with a door, or, for instance, the instrument board of a car, when the key is in a look. It is so easy to detach the retainer from the key, even while the key is in a lock, however, that this method would probably be adopted in most cases.

A very convenient feature of the device described is that it does not call for any change in design or modification of key structure, as the device as a whole performs all of its functions in the same manner, irrespective of whether it is loaded with keys or not. The provision of special notches or projections on the keys to cooperate with the mechanism of the device in any way is rendered unnecessary.

In the arrangement shown in Figures 6 and 7, the projection or button 8 of the latches I correspond to the buttons 8 of Figures 1 and 2, the said projections on one side of the structure being coupled together by a member or plate It having hooked ends I8 which embrace the said projections 8*. Cover plates l9, providing an ornamental finish to the device, have slots 20 which guide operating buttons 2| carried by the said members I8, as shown. It will be readily apparent'that the movement of one of these buttons 2| in one or other direction in its slot will effect the operation of one or other of the latches 1 by virtue of the selective operating engagement of one of the hooked ends 18 of the member with one or other of the projections 8. Easily identified raised figures or other suitable characters or symbols, such as shown at 22 and 23, may be embossed or provided on any convenient part of the device, as on the said cover plates, and these will serve to determine the location of different keys in the retainer so that the user may readily, even in the dark, se-

lect any desired key by merely feeling for the required symbol.

Although the device has been described throughout as being for the purpose of holding keys, for which it is eminently adapted, it will be understood that it may be designed and utilized for the holding of other objects, such, for example, asidentification checks and tallies.

This invention may be developed within the scope of the following claims without departing from the essential features of the said invention, and it is desired that the specification and drawings be read as being merely illustrative, and not in a limiting sense, except as necessitated by the prior art.

What we claim is:

1. In a key case, a frame structure, a key holder swingably movable to open and closed positions relative .to said structure, a locking member maintaining said holder in its closed position, and means swinging said holder to an open position when said locking member is disengaged.

2. In a key'case, a frame structure, a key holder swingably movable to open and closed positions swingably morahle to open and closed positions relative to said structure, resilient means forv swinging said holder to its open position, and a latch engaging said holder in its closed position.

4. In a key case, a frame structure, a clasp for the head of a key, said clasp being eccentrically pivoted on said" frame structure and pivotally movable inwardly and outwardly of said structure, means for moving said clasp outwardly of said structure, and fa manually operable member controlling the operation of said means.

5. In a key case, a frame structure, a clasp for the head of akey, said clasp being eccentrically pivoted on-fsa'id frame structure and pivotally movable and outwardly of said structure, a locking member maintaining said clasp in its inwardly moved position, and means moving said clasp outwardly of said structure when said locking member is disengaged.

6. In a key case, a frame structure, a clasp for the head of a key, said clasp being eccentrition of said clasp,and pivotally movable inwardly and outwardly of said structure.

8. In a key case, a frame structure, and a clasp for the head of a key, said clasp being eccentrically pivoted on said frame structure and pivotally movable inwardly and outwardly of said structure, said clasp being adapted to open when moved outwardly to-admit the insertion and removal of a key head and to hold said key head against removal when closed.

9. In a key case, a frame structure, a holder for the head of a key, a laterally and resiliently yieldable member in said holder permitting the insertion and removal of a key when laterally moved for that purpose, stops in said holder preventing removal of said key therefrom other than by the lateral flexing of said member, said holder being eccentrically pivoted on said frame structure and pivotally movable inwardly and outwardly of said structure.

10. In a key case, a frame structure, key holders at opposite ends of said structure, means for swingably moving said holders individually to open positions, latch means securing said holders in closed positions, and means movable to selectively release said latch means from one or other of said holders.

11. In a key case, a frame structure, key holders at opposite ends of said structure, means for swingably moving said holders to open positions, latches securing said holders in closed positions, and a latch operating member movable in opposite directions to disengage one or other of said latches.

BENJAMIN A. WOINA. JAMES H. MURRAY. 

